Latch mechanism



March 5, 1957 E. DES COMBE'S LATCH MECHANISM 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed July 7. 1955 March 5, 1957 L. E. DES COMBES 2,784,019

LATCH MECHANISM Filed Juiy 7, 1955 Q2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

110 izydzflzzayaww United States Patent LATCH MECHANISM Lloyd E. Des Combes, Sterling, IlL, assignor to Lawrence This invention relates to a latch mechanism and more particularly to a latch mechanism for use in connection with sliding doors.

Sliding doors have become increasingly more popular for communicating rooms in modern buildings. Such doors conserve room space and present an attractive appearance. It is desirable that locks be provided for the sliding doors to assure privacy of the rooms so separated.

It is an'important object of the invention herein to provide a latch mechanism for sliding doors to lock the same and to assure privacy, particularly in such instances where the doors are used to separate rooms, as distinguished from sliding doors in cupboards, closets, and the like.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide latch mechanisms for sliding doors which may be rendered functionally operative in moving the door towards latching position by applying pressure in the direction in which the door normally closes, and to this end the invention contemplates a simple, yet sturdy, locking device which may be controlled by the application of pressure of the users fingers in the direction of the closing of the door to render the latch mechanism operative. Conversely, pressure of the users fingers exerted in the opposite direction serves to unlatch the door and permit unrestricted movement of the door to its open position.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a lock with a protruding latch member that is always in condition for automatically latching with the strike plate, and requires no resetting of the latch member after the door has been moved to a closed position.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a latch member that may be conditioned for latching either prior to closing the-door or after it has been closed.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a latchmechanism in which the parts are rela-j ti vely few in number and may npmically.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a latch mechanism that has been designed so as to reduce to a minimum the work of the carpenter in providing apertures and recesses in the door to receive the flush-pull plates and the flush-edge plates.

' Control of thelatch mechanism on a sliding door often be produced very econeed be only from one side. However, in some instances it is important to provide means whereby the door latch can, if necessary, be shifted to unlatched position from the opposite side as well. It is an object of the present invention to satisfy such conditions.

These and other objects and advantages of the present inventionwill be'apparent from the following detailed description and drawings wherein like numerals are used to designate similar parts throughout.

Fig; -1 is a perspective view of an assembly embodying the present invention;

.2 Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevational view of a portion "of the. device shown in Fig; 1;

.Fig. 3 is a vertical section-taken along the line 3.3'."

of Fig. 1 and showing the latch member in retracted. position; I

Fig. 4 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 3 with thelatch member extended and engaging a strike plate;

Fig. 5 is an end view taken along the line 5-5 of; Fig. 4 and illustrating the configuration of the strike: plate;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional viewtaken along the line- 66 of Fig. 2; Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective view of some of the; parts of the invention herein; Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the latch mechanism; Fig. 9 is a vertical section taken along theline 9-9.: of Fig. 3; Fig. 10 is a horizontal section taken along the line' 10-10 of Fig. 3;

.Fig. 11 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 11 -11 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of 'the spring used in the like, although the invention may have use with the latter.

It is desirable that such doors be provided with a look so that the privacy of persons in either room may. be assured. The construction of the door, and of thedoor jambs or casing'in which it slides may be of any standard type of construction.

Referring to Figs. 6-10, the latch mechanism herein.

comprises an elongated tubular member or casing 22' adapted to be mounted in a suitably apertured and recessed door, an assembly 24 slidably carried in said casing, flush-pull plates 26 and 28, and a handle 3.0 for moving said assembly to and from engaging position with The face platesare a complementary strike plate. The latch mechanism herein'further includes an edge-pull plate or face plate 32 and'a face or strike plate 34 (see Figs. 4, 5 and 10).

are flush therewith.

an enlarged portion 38 adjacent one end thereof.- The body portion 36 is apertured or cut-as at 40'to provideaccess 'for a crank 54, to be described hereinafter. The enlarged portion 38 may be formed integral with the body'portion 36, or if so desired, may be formed as a separate pieceand attached to the body portion 36 by rivets or any other suitable means. As shown, the 1 casing may be made of sheet metal suitably cut and bent into the desired configuration, but it may be produced by die casting or by the use of pressed metal orv the like. Aflixed to the end of the enlarged portion 38, away from the body portion 36 is a backing plate 42. The backing plate is of similar configuration to the edgepull plate 32 and is used to attach the casing to the edge of the door- The back plate may be affixed to the en larged portion 38 by rivets, or if so desired may be cast integral therewith.

received in suitable recesses in the? edges of the door and the door .jamb 16, so that theyi tiallyflush .withthe surface thereof, renderingsa-neab ap the edge-pull plate becomes the=on1y visibl'e memberon the edge portion, of i the door; An-additional function of theedgepull plate will be described:immoredetail-hereinafter. V

Referring now to Fig; 8', the assembly- 24 includes a slide :orl'bodymember 48; a latch pinmember 50; a spring 52sand a crank. 54. The slide member 48 is formed of azpiece of sheet metal with flanges 56, 58; 60 and 62 extending outwardly from the top and bottom edges th'ere oft. The flanges s6and -8are bent outwardlyfrom'lthe bottom edge of plate member 48 and together-are of substantially the same width as the elongated casing 22. The flanges serve as guides for theslide member-48 when it is movedlongitudinally in the casing22; with the sides of-the casing acting asthe guideways; The flanges 60 and 62 are bent outwardly and downwardly from the topedge of the slide member 48, and serve a similar purpose to the flanges 56 and 58.

Adjacent one end of the slide member 48 there isprovidcd an elongated aperture 64. This aperture is adapted to receive an arm 66 extending outwardly from the central portion 68 of the crank 54. The other end of the. slide member 48 has a cut out portion 70 provided therein. The latch pin is attached to slide member 48 ad; jacent the cut out portion 70. The latch pin is pivotally attached to the slide member 48 by a rivet 72- or any other suitable means. endportion 74, and an elongated shank; orportion 76 withia recess 78 cut up from the bottom edge thereof; Therecess 78'is located within the cut out portion 70' of. the: slide member 48 when the latch pin is attached to the slide member.

Extending transversely of the casing 22, adjacent the tions; 82 and'84 witha looped over intermediate portion 7 86.1 The looped portion 86 is attached to. the slide .mem-

bert'48'by a-rivet 88; witharm 82 of the spring carried under flange 60 of the slidemember 48. Thearm 86 of. thezspringpressesagainst the top edge 90 of the latch,

pin: To insure proper engagement of arm 86 ofjthe spring with the edge 90 of the latch pin, the end th'ereof" maybebent as at 92.

As seen inFig; 4, the top edge 90 of'the-latch-pinjl),

has a slightly-curved configuration, while;the bottom edge 94athereof 'is substantially straight; 781.15 adjacentone end thereof, and the other end terrninates in-the hook portion'74. The cut out portion 78' is adapted to fit over the cam-80 and is of substantially the-same diameter as the-outer surface of the cam. The latch pin- 50 is bent'intermediate its ends so as to bring the hook portion 74in substantial verticaljalignment ,with

the slide" member48. When the assembly 24 is moved longitudinally inthe casing 22, the latch pin wilL their extend outwardly from the center of the casing The crank 54, mentioned heretofore; includes a central portion: 68 with 1 an arm 66 extending; outwardly there from. The crank also includes a stub shaft194" with a shoulder 96thereon; The stub shaft 94 is axially; apertured at 98 (Fig. 11) to receive a shaftfi100 extending inwardly from-the-handle 30; The other end of'the stub shaft is provided with a-square axial 'aperture;102' to re;

ceive the squared shanlg of stud" 4. The pprppse-of" thetaua h e .i pe t re 1 e. iscussedlhe ei 'lh'e-shaft l0tt'of handle is' "permanently #held The latch pin includes a hooked The cut out portion indie aperture-98 by a pin- 106 extending through. the stub shaft and the shaft 100. The ends of the pin 106 may be upset or peened over to prevent removal of the same. In view of this permanent attachment, it will be apparent that movement of the handle 30 results in a complementary movement of the crank 54.

The handle (Fig. 7) has. an elongated gripping portion 108, from one. end of. which extends the shaft 100. The shaft extends through an aperture 110 adjacent the top of'the recess portion:46':offiush-pull plate'28. Movemen: of the elongated portion 108-of'the-handle-will cause theassembly 24 -to-.mo.ve-,longi tudinally inthe casing 22.

It will now betseenthat the-aperture 40 in the casing 22 is so formed that it will provide for movement of the arm 66 of crank 54 when the handle is moved to the right or to the left of its central position.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5; the strike plate 34 includes a backing plate 112, provided with a recessed; portion 113, and a face plate 114. The face plateis ap-- ertured at116; with the bottomedge 118 of the aperture providing the edge over whichthe hook portion 74 engages; Theface plate and backing plate are apertured' as at 119 to provide for wood'screws 120. The face plate is normally formed separate from the backing plate. The

two plates are held in aligned and assembled relation ship by the wood screws 120 passing through the aligned apertures 119-into the body of the doorjamb.

The flush-pull'plate'26, as seen in Fig. 11, is folded 01'" bentinwardly at 122 with an apertureprovidedat thebot tom ofthe inwardly bent portion. The stud 104 is re-'- ceived within this recessed and apertured portion. As described'heretofore; theshank of the stud is made square so as. to be received withinthe square aperture 102 of in-the stub shaft, it will be apparent that turning the stud bythe slot provided in the head thereof will also serveto turn the crank- 54 to any desired position. Al

though itis contemplatedthat the handle 30 will beused inthe operation of the latch mechanism, it is necessary that means he provided to open the latch from either side of the" door. It-is for thisreasonthat the'slotted;stud"104 is provided.

The door is prepared forreceiving the, latch mecha: nismby providing a horizontal recess 126 extending in.

from the edge of the door. Thisrecess accommodates the elongated casing 22-. The recess 126 is'enlargedladjacenttheouterportionlthereof to receive the enlarged. portion 38"ofthe'casing: At the extreme external'portion ofthe door the recess ,is further widenedito receive edge-pull plate 32 andbacking plate 42'. An aperture 128 is provided-in the surface of the door 14which connects? with -aperture-126. This aperture'is of'sufticient diame ter to receive the recessed portions 44 and 460i the flushpull plates 26 and 28: Itis to be noted in this connection thata standard 'carpenters' jig may. be used'in form: ing the recesses and apertures without providing new jigs or other special equipment.-

The strike plate'is received in the door-jamb 16byproviding a-recess 130 therein. The recessis, enlargedv at, the extreme-edge ofthe door jamb to receivethebacking; plate 112 andstrike plate 34; Thelrecessisvofsufiicientl depthto accommodate the recessed portion 113. associatedz' with th e-backing plate 112..

It is obvious that .theaperturesrinnthefiedgegpulltplate and; the-strike plate are aligned so, that. the latch .pin will, properly engagethe strikeplate when .thedoor is-closed... It'will'also be apparent that theapertures:arerprovided,

a suitable distanceabovethe floor sothatthe-latchmechanismwill'be easily accessible to a pers0n-of ayeraggi height.

The latch mechanism and associated parts are assembled as follows. The spring 52 is attached to the slide member 48 of the assembly 24. The latch pin 50 may then be pivotally affixed to the slide member 48. The assembly 24 is then inserted into the casing 22, with the flanges 56, 58, 60 and 62 guiding the slide member within the casing. The slide member is so positioned within the casing that the aperture 64 in slide member 48 is approximately in the center of aperture 48 in the casing. The casing is then-inserted into the recess 126 in the door. The casing is held in position within the door by the edges of recess 126, and also by wood screws 132 extending through apertures provided in the edge-pull plate 32 and backing plate 42 and into the door.

The handle 30 may then be attached to flush-pull plate 28, with the shaft 108 extending through recess 110 therein. The stud shaft 94 of crank 54 is then placed over the shaft 100, and pin 186 is inserted in order to key the shaft to the stud shaft. The flush-pull plate 28, together with the parts assembled therewith, is then inserted through aperture 128 in the surface of the door, with the central portion 68 of the crank 54 in substantial alignment with the elongated portion 108 of the handle. It will be apparent that inserting the pull plate in the manner suggested will bring arm 66 of the crank 52 into engagement with aperture 64 in the slide member 48. Flush-pull plate 28 may then be permanently aifixed to the door 14 by screws 134 extending through apertures provided in the flush-pull plate.

The other flush-pull plate 26 may then be prepared for assembly. Stud 104 is inserted through an aperture in the dished out portion 44. The shank of stud 104 is then suitably upset to retain the screw within the aperture provided in the dished out portion 44. Flush-pull plate 26 is then inserted through aperture 128 from the side of the door opposite flush-pull plate 28. The square shank of screw 104 will be received in the square aperture 102 in the stub shaft 94. Flush-pull plate 26 may then be permanently affixed to the door by wood screws inserted through apertures provided in the sides of the dished out portion 44. This completes the assembly of the portion of the latch mechanism on the door.

The strike plate 34 is first assembled with its associated backing plate 112 by gluing or any other suitable means. The parts so assembled are then inserted within the recess 130 in the door jamb. The parts are held in proper position within the door jamb by wood screws 118 extending through the strike plate and the backing plate into the wood of the door jamb.

Operation of the latch mechanism is effected by moving the handle 130 in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction relative to its normal vertical position. As shown in Fig. 3, when the handle is in its maximum counterclockwise position, the assembly 24 is entirely contained within the casing 22. As the handle is turned in a clockwise direction, the arm 66 of crank 54, moving within aperture 64 of the slide member 48, causes the assembly 24 to move towards the aperture in edge-pull plate 32. As movement is made in the direction indicated, the edge 94 of the latch pin 58 is moved upwardly over cam member 80. It will thus be seen that the hook 74 is raised above the edge 108 of strike plate 34. The upward movement of the latch pin 58 is at all times opposed by the force of spring 52. The assembly 24 may be moved continuously towards the outer edge of the door until the cam member 80 engages the cut out portion 78 in the latch pin, at which time the latch pin will drop vertically to assume a position which will bring the hook 74 into engagement with the edge 118 of the strike plate 34. It is to be noted that the movement of the handle is in the same direction as that in which the door is closed, and therefore the door may be both closed and latched by one movement of the handle. It is also to be noted that it is immaterial whether or not the latch pin 50 is in engagement with the strike plate 34 when it drops vertically, because'it is firmly held in position by the cam and spring 52, and may engage the striking plateat a later time without requiring resetting of the latch pin. 7

At such time as it is desirable to unlatch the door, the handle 30 is moved in a counterclockwise direction which in turn causes movement of the assembly 24 in a direction away from the edge-pull plate. Upon'first initiating movement. of the handle in a counterclockwise direction, the latch pin 50 is raised up by the cam member 80 to disengage the strike plate 34. Continuing the counterclockwise movement of the handle retracts the assembly 24 into the casing 22 until such time as it is entirely contained within the casing.

The guide members 56, 58, 60 and 62 frictionally engaging the top and bottom of the casing 22 provide a means whereby the assembly 24 is held in any desired position within the casing 22. For this reason, if the handle is turned to its counterclockwise extremity, the assembly 24 will be frictionally held in its innermost position.

In order to provide a maximum passage between two adjoining rooms, it frequently happens that the sliding door is retracted within a wall in such a manner that the edge of the door coincides'with the edge 18 of an associated door jamb. When this occurs the flush-pull plates 26 and 28, as well as the handle 30, are inaccessible to a person attempting to move the door, and it becomes necessary to provide another means for pulling the door out from the jamb. The edge-pull plate is provided for this purpose. A finger of an operator may be inserted through the aperture provided in the edge-pull plate, and by pulling on said plate may bring the door out from its position within the jamb.

Whereas each of the parts of the invention has been discussed individually, it will be apparent that a number of the parts may be combined to form a single integral item of manufacture. For example, the casing 22, the cam 80, the enlarged portion 38 and the backing plate 42 may all be formed integral in a single casting. Likewise, the backing plate 112 and the strike plate 34 may be cast as a single piece.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention herein is comprised of relatively few parts and is simple and eflicient in operation. Although a single embodiment of the invention has been shown for purposes of illustration, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only as set forth in the following claims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A latch mechanism for sliding doors or the like comprising a case adapted to be mounted in a door having a jamb suitably apertured to receive the same and an assembly slidably carried in said case including a slide member having a vertically elongated aperture adjacent one end thereof, a latch pin pivotally attached to said slide member, spring means pressing said latch pin transversely relative to said slide member and means effective upon outward movement of said slide member for pivoting said latch pin to hold said door in closed position, said latch mechanism further comprising a crank disposed outside said case and having an arm extending through the aperture in said slide member, said casing being apertured to admit said crank arm, and means for turning said crank whereby to move said assembly longitudinally in said case, said turning means including a handle with a shaft extending therefrom for engagement with said crank whereby said crank may be turned from one side of the door and means for turning said crank from the opposite side of the door comprising a stud coupled to said crank and accessible from said opposite side for manual actuation, said mechanism further comprising means adapted to be mounted on the outsides of said door for journalling said shaft and said stud.

2. A latch mechanism according to claim '1 wherein saidcrank further includes a stub shaft having an aperture in one end adapted to receive the shaft of said handle and coupling means connecting said stud with said 'st'uo shaft.

3. A latch mechanism according to claim 1 wherein movement of said handle in a door closing direction will move said slide member outwardly.

4. A latch mechanism for sliding doors or the like comprising casing means adapted to be mounted in a door suitably apertured to receive the same and an assembly slidably carried in said casing means including a slide member having an elongated aperture adjacent one end thereof, a latch pin pivotally attached to said slide member, spring means pressing said latch pin transversely with respect to said slide member and means effective upon outward movement of said slide member for pivoting said latch pin to hold said door in closed position, said latch mechanism further comprising a crank having an arm extending through said elongated slide member aperture, a stub shaft disposed within said casing means, a handle having a shaft extending therefrom operatively connected with said stub shaft, and a stud operatively connected with said stub shaft, said casing means being formed with opposed aligned apertures providing journals for said handle shaft and said stud, said handle being accessible from one side of said .door while said stud is accessible for the other side of said door for rotating said stub shaft and thereby actuating said crank.

5. A latch mechanism according to claim 4 in which said stud is formed with an outer head and is upset inside said casing means.

6. A latch mechanism according to claim 4 in which said stub shaft and said handle shaft are formed with telescoping ends, said mechanism further comprising means for holding said telescoping shaft ends against relative rotation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 367,827 McIntyre Aug. 9, 1887 2,346,656 Berghoif Apr. 18, 1944 2,378,654 Pekny June 19, 1945 2,405,240 Shearer et a1 Aug. 6, 1946 2,529,606 Haseltine Nov. 14, 1950 2,742,309 Hillgren Apr. 17, 1956 

